Yet another water review!

[hipjimmer]

This time - outside Buffalo NY. I'm a long timer from that "other board" but really like what I'm reading here lately. So hi ya'll.

Here's my results:
pH 7.7
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 167
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.28
Cations / Anions, me/L 3.0 / 2.6
ppm
Sodium, Na 11
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 34
Magnesium, Mg 9
Total Hardness, CaCO3 123
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.2 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 8
Chloride, Cl 18
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 97
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 79

A lot softer than I thought. And I'm pretty certain that the low calcium is the reason for the fact that the bitter we just brewed (almost all basemalt) was so astringent. Even though we batch sparge, is that the cause, or is it likely that since we just fired up our brewtus on this batch and superheated the mash (another story) I'm thinking the water is the real culprit.

Am I understanding my chemistry right?
Given this water it appears that mid level ambers are good with no adjustments. True?

Thanks guys.

 

[ajdelange]

A couple of things suggest themselves. First is that with your levels of alkalinity and hardness it is unlikely that mash pH will go low enough without the addition of acid in some form. In Britain the traditional form is CRS (Carbonate Reducing Solution) sold specifically for this purpose. In the US we tend to use lactic (as the acid or in acidulated malt), or phosphoric acids as they are readily available.

Getting pH into the right range will definitely make for a better beer and reduced hops harshness might be a part of that but it would depend on many things to the point where I won't venture a guess.

Another possibility is your sulfate, which, while highish at 24 mg/L (3x8) is more than 10 times lower than the levels with which some beers are brewed. It's worth trying a brew or 2 with lower sulfate because I think there is wide variation in how people like their hops and you may be one of those who like beers better when they are brewed with lower levels.

Color has very little to do with water chemistry i.e. you can brew any color beer with any water if you know what you are about. That said, highly colored beers are usually associated with more alkaline waters and lighter beers with softer (low mineral content) ones.

Have a look at the Primer, if you haven't already.

 

[hipjimmer]

Thanks for the read and reply. One clarification. When u say the ph is unlikely to get into range without modification do you mean for a lighter beer (less acidification from malt) or do you mean for just about ANY style/ grist?

 

[ajdelange]

I really meant for the particular beer you mentioned i.e. the Bitter but it is in general true that most beers require some acid. The exceptions are the dark beers that use a lot of dark crystal or roasted malt but even when I brew stout with water very similar to yours I need some acid. That does not mean that I recommend adding acid to all beers. If the beer is dark you shouldn't add acid to it without a pH check nor should you add alkali without a pH check.

 

[hipjimmer]

I would imagine that 5.2 should help in most mid range grists.

 

[ajdelange]

Unfortunately it doesn't. Phosphate buffers have little buffering capacity at mash pH (about midway between 2 pK's). Laboratory testing confirms this nor has anyone on any forum that I have seen who uses a pH meter been able to confirm that the product does what it purports to do.